Tag Archives: cannot

The scenario is unfortunately common: A woman goes to a bar and chooses to have several drinks. Later that night, she becomes a victim of sexual assault.In New York, Manhattan's top prosecutor says, the assaulter can not be charged with a sex crime because of a legal loophole stipulating that someone who becomes voluntarily intoxicated is not considered "mentally incapacitated" for purposes of giving consent.

Former US Defense Secretary Warned Wednesday that the United States cannot survive without its allies, days after the G7 summit showed President Donald Trump out of step with America’s key partners. “An oft-spoken admonition in the Marines is this: When you’re going to a gunfight, bring all your friends with guns,” Mattis wrote in the Wall Street Journal, in his first public comments since quitting in a policy dispute with Trump last December. “A leader must display strategic acumen that incorporates respect for those nations that have stood with us when trouble loomed,” Mattis wrote.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told his British counterpart Boris Johnson on Tuesday that the Brexit withdrawal agreement could not be re-opened, and that “satisfactory” alternative arrangements have yet to be identified. “Alternative arrangements could replace the backstop in the future, but thus far satisfactory options have yet to be identified and demonstrated,” Varadkar told Johnson in a phone call, the Irish government’s press office said.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller said during congressional testimony Wednesday that he cannot name a precedent in which the Justice Department decided an individual was not exonerated because their innocence had not been proven, but cautioned that the Russia investigation was a unique circumstance.Mueller reluctantly agreed last month to appear before the House Judiciary Committee and answer lawmakers' questions about his final report on the Russia probe. Early in Wednesday's hearing, Representative John Ratcliffe grilled the former special counsel on whether President Trump should have to be proven innocent rather than presumed so.“Can you give me an example other than Donald Trump where the Justice Department determined that an investigated person was not exonerated because their innocence was not conclusively determined?” the Texas Republican asked.> Rep. John Ratcliffe, a former George W. Bush-era federal prosecutor from Texas, accused Mueller of offering his own prosecutorial analysis about crimes that weren't charged. “They're trying to rattle him,” says editor @blakehounshell.> > More live analysis: t.co/A3Lgdm6poPpic.twitter.com/T2JiVECHg5> > — POLITICO (@politico) July 24, 2019"I cannot, but this is a unique situation," Mueller responded."It doesn't exist," Ratcliffe continued. "Nowhere does it say that you were to conclusively determine Donald Trump's innocence or that the special counsel report should determine whether or not to exonerate him. It's not in any of the documents, it's not in your appointment order, it's not in any of the special counsel regulations, it's not in the OLC opinions, it's not in the Justice manual, and it's not in the principles of federal prosecution.""The bedrock principle of our justice system is a presumption of innocence," Ratcliffe added.Ratcliffe went on to accuse Mueller of not following the special counsel regulations, saying the portion of Mueller's report about whether the president committed obstruction of justice does not include any "decisions reached," as Mueller was not able to conclude whether Trump had obstructed justice."You wrote 180 pages about decisions that weren't reached, about potential crimes that weren't charged or decided," Ratcliffe said.However, the lawyer who drafted the special counsel regulations in 1999, Neal Katyal, called out Ratcliffe, saying the congressman is "dead wrong" about the regulations."They absolutely don't forbid the Mueller Report," Katyal wrote on Twitter. "And they recognize the need for a Report 'both for historical purposes and to enhance accountability.'"Mueller has vowed to stick to the language of his final report in his testimony, telling lawmakers that, "the report is my testimony and I will stay within that text."

The Swedish prime minister has disputed Donald Trump’s claim over the treatment of a detained American rapper following a phone call between the two leaders. Platinum-selling artist A$ AP Rocky was arrested in Sweden in early July on suspicion of assault following a street brawl. Mr Trump tweeted on Saturday that he had spoken to Prime Minister Stefan Lofven offering to personally vouch for his bail. Mr Trump said the Swedish PM assured him that the rapper would be treated fairly. “Just had a very good call with @SwedishPM Stefan Löfven who assured me that American citizen A$ AP Rocky will be treated fairly," Mr Trump said in a post on Twitter. "Likewise, I assured him that A$ AP was not a flight risk and offered to personally vouch for his bail, or an alternative… Our teams will be talking further, and we agreed to speak again in the next 48 hours!" Just had a very good call with @SwedishPM Stefan Löfven who assured me that American citizen A$ AP Rocky will be treated fairly. Likewise, I assured him that A$ AP was not a flight risk and offered to personally vouch for his bail, or an alternative….— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 20, 2019 But a spokesperson for the Swedish leader has maintained Mr Lofven told Mr Trump the government cannot influence the judicial process. The spokesperson said: “It was a friendly and respectful phone call which lasted about 20 minutes. The Prime Minister made sure to point out that the Swedish judicial system, prosecutors and courts, are completely independent. "He also pointed out that everyone is equal before the law and that the government neither can nor will try to influence the judicial process." Mr Trump said he and Mr Lofven had agreed to speak again over the next two days, another claim disputed by Sweden. “It is possible that there will be follow up calls but right now there is not one scheduled or planned,” a spokesperson said. A$ AP Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was detained following a fight in Stockholm, where he had been performing. The district court decided on Friday that Rocky would remain in custody for one more week to allow police to complete their investigation. They have until 25 July. Mayer has claimed he was acting in self defense after two young men harassed and followed him and his entourage. Fans, fellow artists and US Congress members have called for the 30-year-old artist to be freed following his arrest on 3 July. The US president intervened after an appeal from rapper Kanye West and his wife Kim Kardashian.

Britain does not expect the United States to request that the United Kingdom joins a war with Iran and London would be unlikely to agree to join such a conflict, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Tuesday. “The U.S. is our closest ally, we talk to them the whole time, we consider any requests that they say carefully, but I cannot envisage any situation where they request or we agree to any moves to go to war,” Hunt told parliament.

The United States cannot unilaterally remove Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program as the partnership agreement does not allow it, Turkey’s head of Defense Industries Directorate said on Friday. “No single country can say they don’t want you and then remove you from the program,” Ismail Demir told reporters. Ankara and Washington have been at loggerheads for months over Turkey’s planned purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense system.